Melbourne will speak to two of its players after they attended Mad Monday celebrations dressed up as Rolf Harris and a young girl.

A photo of the pair, posted on defender Dean Terlich's Instagram account features Terlich and teammate Alex Georgiou dressed up in costumes that appear to be the disgraced musician and a girl. Terlich is wearing a fake goatee, high grey wig, short tie, colourful shirt, blazer and rectangular glasses, all of which are trademarks of Harris.

Georgiou is wearing a dress and wig.

The club indicated that it will speak to the players about their costumes sometime between when they return to headquarters on Wednesday.

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"Dean and Alex have made a poor and inconsiderate mistake in choosing their costumes today. We will speak to these players about their error in judgment," said Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney.

Harris was earlier this year sentenced to five years and nine months jail time in England after being found guilty on 12 charges of indecent assault of four victims aged between eight and 19, over a 17-year stretch between 1969 and 1986.

Another photo, posted on the Instagram account of now delisted Brisbane Lions player Jordan Lisle appears to feature an unidentified Lions player wearing blackface, dressed as basketball superstar LeBron James.

Controversy and Mad Monday have gone hand-in-hand over the past decade. Last year, St Kilda player Clinton Jones was fined $3000 after burning dwarf entertainer Blake Johnston on the Monday after the Saints' season ended.

In 2008, then Carlton star Brendan Fevola paraded outside a city bar wearing a nightie, and holding a sex toy over his crotch.

Mad Monday antics gone wrong have not been the sole domain of the AFL. In 2012, NRL club Canterbury was forced to pay $30,000 to charity after its players shouted offended and threatening language within earshot of surrounding media during the course of their celebrations.

The photos have arisen at a sensitive time for the AFL, with Fairfax Media revealing on Sunday that women have felt professionaly stunted in the football industry.

Elsewhere around the AFL the costumes were in better taste and more light-hearted.

With the season over for 10 clubs, players were showing their talents in a different arena, with those who won't take part in the finals letting their hair down and dressing up. Social media was full of photos of some of the more creative efforts.

Demon Chris Dawes dressed up as teammate James Frawley wearing a Geelong jumper, a reference to Frawley's mooted change of clubs as an unrestricted free agent.

105 comments

What we need is a John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten figure to fight the media in Australia.

If you recall Lydon called saville a rapist back in the early 80's I think it was, and the leftist bbc censored him while enabling saville.

Oh sorry I forgot- ordinary people dressing up is bad but censorship of legitimate news stories about the actions relevant leaders is good. # I'm sorry, I just keep forgetting the double standards leftist media aspires to.

Commenter

Alex

Location

Finley

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 5:13PM

I thought it was about that wanted the ABC to self-censor anything that didn't support the "home team"?

Commenter

Dags

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 6:26PM

Cheer up Alex, you conservative pigs have a war to fight. Arm that "POPGUN" and flex them muscles sport because "Team Australia" urgently needs your vote.

Commenter

Nicko

Location

Melb

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 6:30PM

A Johnny Rotten fan - so you support his song 'God Save the Queen' then?

Commenter

kepler 22b

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 6:31PM

The idea that the BBC is, or has ever been, left wing is hysterically funny. And by the way, Alex, Saville was a good friend of Thatcher.

Commenter

dds154

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 7:17PM

A Leftist BBC protecting Savile? As Savile was an energetic disciple of Margaret Thatcher why would they do that?

Commenter

Tyke.

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 7:34PM

None of that matters to Alex. He's achieved his aim, which is to include 'leftist' in his comment.

Commenter

The Watcher

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 8:49PM

Hey Alex, I hear there having auditions for the Wizard of Oz. you should try for the role of the scarecrow, you'd suit the part

Commenter

Go Blues

Date and time

September 01, 2014, 10:26PM

They have already got that figure to fight the media, he's called Clive. The media love him, because he is never boring. As for the footballers dressing up as Harris and the girl. This is what comedy does it takes serious issues and reflects them. If the trial had been on going, then it would be in bad taste. Harris was found guilty and therefore anyone sending him up is within the boundaries.

Commenter

Rod

Date and time

September 02, 2014, 6:15AM

Nicko, "conservative pigs". Wow! With awesome name calling skills like that, you'd be a shoe in as a shop steward. And there I was thinking only conservatives were abusive.